Magical Murray has his revenge

Andy Murray is the king of Wimbledon, claiming two Olympic medals, including a historic gold for his sensational victory over world No.1 Roger Federer.

The 25-year-old was buoyed by armies of supporters who packed into centre court, transforming the normally polite venue into a raucous sea of red, white and blue.

It was more Wembley than Wimbledon as Murray’s matches were punctuated by chants, cheers, laughter and roars, while chants of “Andy, Andy, Andy” switched to “Team GB” during his mixed doubles final with Laura Robson.

The Scot cemented his place as No.1 in British fans’ hearts as he stormed to a straight-sets victory over Federer.

And less than an hour after crushing Federer 6-2 6-1 6-4 to become Great Britain’s first Olympic men’s singles champion for 104 years, Murray and Robson narrowly failed to add the country’s first mixed doubles title in exactly a century, losing 2-6 6-3 10-8 to Belarus’ Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka. Murray becomes the first Briton to win a men’s singles gold medal since 1908. From the moment Murray walked on to centre court, the partisan crowd – including a few people in fancy dress – made their feelings clear, welcoming him with thunderous applause and deafening cheers.

The celebrations were a far cry from a month ago, when Murray broke down in tears after he failed in his bid to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry.

After his victory an emotional Murray sank to his knees before running up into the players’ box.

He called the win the biggest of his life and added: “This week’s been incredible so far. I’ve had a lot of fun, the support’s been amazing.” Murray said he was inspired both by the performances of his British team-mates and the crowd, who were unusually boisterous for SW19.

“They’re unbelievable,” he said. “It’s not just here but all of the events I’ve watched. I watched the athletics last night it was amazing.”

More roars greeted the Scot as he returned to centre court for the medal ceremony, during which the crowds remained standing, joining in the national anthem and offering a noticeable crescendo in volume when the Scot draped himself in a Union flag.

Murray mania continued for the mixed doubles – as Murray returned to the court with Robson for their final, they were greeted with another cacophony of noise from the stand.

It was not even decided Murray and Robson would play together until last weekend, and even then they needed a wild card to get in.

“I’d like to thank Andy for playing with me. It’s been one of the best week’s of my life, for sure,” Robson said.

Murray added: “We would have signed up for that at the start of the event. It’s just annoying to lose. We were so close and played so well in the first set.”